


A Thing Of The Past

by Logomancy



Series: Ain't No Sky Without Birds [2]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: (only threats though don't worry), it be like that sometimes, threats of animal violence, well some things are canon the setting is not though, wherein many things happen and none of them are in any way canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23194177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Logomancy/pseuds/Logomancy
Summary: While chasing down signs painfully similar to his time, Sky finds himself stuck in a strange predicament.However, there are still friends to come to his aid, and new friends to make.
Series: Ain't No Sky Without Birds [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1666459
Comments: 60
Kudos: 220





	1. beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This fic has a very different vibe than the previous fic in this series. Namely, that it has multiple chapters. I'll try my best to see it through!  
> The only connection that this fic has to the previous one in this series is that Sky can talk to birds and the rest of the Links know this. The connection this fic has with the Zelda timeline is dubious, but the same can be said about many of the games themselves, right?

Sky coughed, then attempted to clear his throat. Legend squinted at him suspiciously.

“What’s up with you?” he demanded. “You’ve been making gross throat noises for what must be fifteen minutes straight now.”

Sky covered an amused smile by taking a swig from his waterskin. For all his sharp edges, Legend had proven himself to be quite the mother hen.

“I’m fine,” Sky said, voice still a little hoarse, “I just talked to the locals for a little too long, that’s all.”

Several bewildered expressions looked back at him as they continued to walk through the woods. The woods they had been trekking through for about an hour or so.

The woods with no people whatsoever.

“Birds. Local birds,” he sheepishly amended.

Legend tossed his hands in the air. “Right! That explains why you sound like you’re ready to hack up a lung. Makes sense!”

Sky almost agreed before the sarcasm caught up with him. Zelda had always teased him for taking things at face value so readily.

“My throat’s only made for speaking Hylian and with Loftwings. Other birds’ speech tends to wear out my throat after a w-” his voice cut off with a pained croak. He took another swig of water. “- a while.”

Hyrule frowned at him. “That sounds painful. Do you want to take a potion, or I could-”

Sky waved him away. _I can sign for now_ , he gestured, a reassuring smile in place.

“If you’re sure.” Hyrule said. Sky gave him a thumbs-up.

“Town ahead!” Wind called suddenly.

Warriors stretched as he walked. “Maybe we can finally figure out whose Hyrule this is. Or if we’re even _in_ Hyrule.”

When their adventure had begun, a new Hyrule meant a new Link. After their group’s number had grown to nine, however, they had only led in one of their respective worlds. Only once had they encountered a Hyrule that was seemingly in between their times. It was unsettling, because although their own worlds could be unpredictable, someone always knew how to get around and what to avoid.

A Hyrule that was strange to everyone was never a good sign.

Unfortunately, it seemed like this was yet another unknown era. None of the townspeople they entreated for information had any knowledge of a Hero, and the name Link only garnered blank looks.

Sky shook his head, ready to regroup with the others, but the gleam of a trinket at a nearby stall caught his eye.

Nestled amongst various bits of jewelry and handwritten price cards was a glass figurine of a bird meant to be hung on a cord. In the waning light of day, its scarlet feathers gleamed as the little bird remained permanently in flight.

His heart formed a lump in his throat. It almost looked like his Loftwing, he mused, smoothing a thumb down the pendant.

He made eye contact with the seller and gestured toward the bird. _Do you by any chance have one in blue?_

The woman tapped at her ear and raised an eyebrow. _I can hear_ , Sky signed, pleased that the woman had the forethought to ask.

“To answer your question, son, all I’ve got is what you see here. I could make one for you if you’d like, but it’d cost extra,” the lady said.

There was no telling how long he’d stick around in this world. Although it would have been lovely to have a pair, one would have to be enough.

He shook his head and tapped on the bird, reaching back to get his wallet.

“You must not be from around here, to be asking for one in another color,” the woman said, leaning forward.

Sky frowned. _What do you mean?_

She waved her hands frantically, like she was trying to dispel any disrespect. “Don’t mean anything rude by it, the locals just all recognize the sign of our local deity.” She eyed him, as if testing to see if he was still listening. “The gods have blessed us with a great bird whose feathers glitter like jewels and whose height is taller than two men combined. We here honor its presence greatly.”

Sky felt dizzy with excitement, so much so that he gasped out, “ _Where?”_ before the ache in his throat flared once more.

To his dismay, however, the woman just shrugged. “We haven’t seen it in a little while,” she admitted. “But we don’t claim to have any control over it, we just have faith in its eventual return.”

The transaction passed by like a haze. He walked to their designated meeting spot in a trance, struggling with warring emotions.

A bird from the gods. A red pendant.

The unknown whereabouts of the closest creature to a Loftwing that he’d ever heard of.

“Hey. Hey! Got your head in the clouds?”

Sky snapped back to the present at Wind’s teasing tone. He was holding the pendant so hard that the edges were digging into his palm. He absently noted the cord looped around his wrist. The lady at the stall must have given it to him. Did he pay for it?

Once more his scattered thoughts were interrupted. “What did you find?” Time said, “The rest of us have yet to get anything beyond dead-ends.”

“I… didn’t find any clues about our own journey,” Sky admitted. “But…”

“But?” Twilight prompted.

Sky uncurled his fingers. Wind and Wild peered at the little bird.

“Nice necklace?” Wild offered. Sky managed a smile.

It suddenly occurred to him that his companions might not consider his discovery at all urgent. Not like he did, anyway.

So instead of saying, _I think a being not unlike my soulmate watches over this town_ , he lamely signed,

 _Giant bird_.

“Giant bird? A monster?” Hyrule guessed. Sky almost gave himself whiplash shaking his head. _Local legend_ , he clarified.

To his surprise, Wild looked delighted. “ _Finally!_ Something exciting.”

Legend glared at him. “Constantly fighting for our lives isn’t _exciting_ enough for you?”

“Are we chasing a folk tale, then?” Hyrule said, but he sounded intrigued.

Sky remained silent, refusing to get his hopes up.

“I don’t know if looking for giant birds is the best idea,” Wind said, uncharacteristically cautious. Twilight looked unsure.

Warriors slung an arm over Wind’s shoulders and jostled him good-naturedly. “Not to worry! We’ve got our resident bird-whisperer to speak on our behalf. Right?”

When Warriors made eye-contact, the look on his face was knowing. Sky felt his face heat up a little.

Warriors was always observant.

“Bird- _whisperer_ might be right,” Four said wryly. “He can’t talk.”

Four was _also_ very observant. And right. Loftwing or not, he was in no condition to properly speak to this bird.

“Then let’s call it a night, for now,” Time said, gesturing toward the inn they had found, “We’ll discuss hunting deities down in the morning.”

Sky rubbed the pendant between his fingers. Maybe, just maybe, he thought wistfully, he’d find a familiar face in this world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those not in the know of Skyward Sword details: Zelda has a blue Loftwing in the game. Sky is being sappy when he wanted that blue bird pendant.


	2. tip the scales

The next morning, Sky found that the ache in his throat had lessened significantly.

As usual, he was the last to wake. He shook his head, trying to dispel any negative thoughts so early in the day.

He found the rest downstairs, Wild seemingly trying to negotiate with the kitchen staff.

“What’s going on?” Sky asked as he settled next to Four.

“He’s trying to help out, but they refuse to let a guest work,” Four said, looking a little amused as a diminutive but stern cook brandished a spoon at Wild. Defeated, he joined the rest in the inn’s dining room.

The inn didn’t have a large enough table to accommodate all of them at once, so the group had split in two. Sky glanced over where Time was fondly watching Twilight explain something, his hands gesturing wildly. He wasn’t sure how they knew each other, but nevertheless their relationship was sweet.

The bonds that were being forged among the reincarnations of his own spirit… they were worth the longing he felt for home. The warmth of Skyloft was present in his companions’ smiles.

Wild nudged him in the side. “Hey, think that’s our deity?” He pointed to a painting above the inn’s doorway, illuminated by the light of the day.

Crimson strokes of paint outlined feathers that were vivid against the soft blue of sky and the pale gold of clouds. It was so familiar it stole his breath away.

“Yeah,” he managed, “Yeah, looks about right.”

“Seems like your throat is doing better.” Sky startled to see Legend sitting next to Hyrule across the table. Despite his bold personality, Sky hadn’t noticed him at all. He’d barely noticed anyone at the table. The story of the bird had scattered him more than he’d realized.

He ducked his head in embarrassment and muttered a quick, “Yeah.”

Thankfully he was spared from more scrutiny by the arrival of a delicious breakfast.

Even though staff had insisted on cooking the meal, Wild refused to not help with the dishes. Sky stayed behind as well, carrying over stacked plates for Wild to wash and sheepishly asking the amused staff where to put away the clean dishes.

Wild waved him away at the last batch, so Sky went upstairs alone.

At least, he thought he was alone. Something prompted him to stay quiet and hidden when he recognized the two sitting at the stairwell. Time and Twilight.

Sky didn’t consider himself particularly stealthy on a good day, but here, in a cramped stairwell and with a couple of the group’s sharpest members, the odds of going unnoticed were slim.

Still, he listened.

“-you _really_ think this isn’t a waste of time?” Twilight was saying.

“Oh, come on! Where’s your sense of adventure, pup?” Time said, knocking a fist against Twilight’s shoulder, teasing.

“…I’m surprised _you’re_ not against this detour, that’s all,” Twilight muttered. Sky couldn’t see his face at this angle, but he could imagine the twist of his mouth.

Time chuckled. “Shockingly, I’m not all doom and gloom. Besides…” Here Time lowered his voice just slightly. “Didn’t you see the look on his face?”

Twilight sighed. “I did,” he said, but now there was something of a smile in his voice.

Time clapped him on the back. “Then let’s get ready with the others.”

As they climbed upstairs, Sky considered what he’d heard. They must have been discussing him, he realized with a slight pinprick of unease.

His companions were willing to put aside more important worries to chase down a legend, just because Sky was – what, sad?

 _Pathetic_ , was more like it. The thought was so sudden and so upsetting that Sky had to take a deep breath to settle himself. No, he had proven himself as a hero. This was an act of kindness, not pity, he told himself as he went upstairs, and he would not tarnish it with his self-doubts.

Soon they were traveling once more. The inn’s owner had been surprised and a little suspicious of the armed group asking after the local deity, but after being reassured that they meant no harm, he had described to them a lake at which the bird tended to rest.

Wild was practically bouncing along, fiddling with the Sheikah Slate. “I hope I can get a good picture of this thing,” he said. Wind fished out an odd-looking box and waved it at him. “Me too!” It seemed like his previous nervousness about the bird had vanished.

Hyrule eyed them both warily. “Do you always take, uh, _pictures_ , of local gods?”

Wild grinned at him. He looked a little feral. “Sure! I’ve got plenty of the dragons we’ve got flying around back home. And the Lord of the Mountain.”

Hyrule choked. “Wait, _dragons?_ ” he squeaked incredulously, “But those are really dangerous!”

Wild shrugged. “Not really,” he said, “You’ve fought them in your world?”

Before Hyrule managed to answer, Legend cut in. “I see where this is going and I’m going to make it a lot faster,” he said, and then raised his voice.

“Raise your hand if you’ve fought a dragon!” he called out, instantly raising his hand. Everyone raised their hands.

Well. Almost everyone.

Legend squinted at Wild. “I thought you said your dragons weren’t dangerous.”

Wild put his hand down, the rest of the group following suit. “They’re not. One was corrupted by malice, though.”

Wind clapped his hands together. “I had something similar happen! But only one dragon I met was nice. I had to knock a couple of serpent heads together in another battle!”

Sky stared at them, dumbfounded. “You fought dragons? _Why?_ ”

Warriors looked particularly serious. “Had I not, devastation would have followed.”

Sky frowned. “In my world, I met dragons on the surface,” he explained. “They were wise and powerful, and helped me on my journey.”

“Huh,” Four said. “For what it’s worth, I haven’t encountered any dragons at all.”

Twilight stilled abruptly. They all took note and stopped as well.

“What is it?” Wild asked.

Twilight cocked his head, his ears twitching. It oddly reminded Sky of Wolfie.

“There’s something up ahead,” he said, “And I hear water.”

The lake. The bird! Sky could barely contain his excitement, but he forced himself to focus.

The group pressed forward, now with caution moving them closer together.

Time quietly brushed aside foliage, Warriors doing the same on his left, and they all slunk through the opening with as much stealth as a group of nine could manage.

The sight that greeted them rendered them all speechless.

The waterfall gushing into the lake almost looked like it was sparkling as its crystal waters tumbled into the equally clear looking lake. The lake itself was surrounded by grass so green it was almost a shock to look at, peppered with tiny starbursts of color in the form of wildflowers.

The grove was breathtaking. But what stole most of their attention was what was _in_ the lake.

“That’s not a bird,” Wind murmured as he gawked at the giant creature.

“No,” Sky said, flummoxed. It was as if the gods themselves had been listening in to their conversation.

“That’s a dragon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the zelda wiki page for dragons was visited many times to write this chapter


	3. first impressions

With every motion, the dragon sent small waves crashing onto the lake’s shore.

They all stood very still, watching as the creature grumbled to himself and continued craning his long neck to and fro, his claws carding through the water.

Wild raised his Slate in a meaningful manner.

“No,” Warriors hissed. Wind raised his Picto Box as well. “ _No!”_ Warriors whisper-screamed.

 _Click,_ went Wind’s box.

They all held their breath, but the dragon paid them no mind.

“He’s looking for something,” Four said in a low voice.

“Is he looking for the bird, too?” Hyrule whispered. “…Is that a bad thing?”

“Let’s just watch for now. Nothing good can come out of – wait, Sky – ” Time said before cutting off.

Sky walked out from behind the foliage and towards the dragon. Someone, he wasn’t sure who, tried to pull him back, but he shrugged the hand off to a chorus of furious whispers from behind.

The dragon had begun to peer at the shore’s edge in what seemed to be consternation. Like the other dragons he had met, he had a long slender neck, his face vaguely human yet clearly ethereal. This dragon had dark brown scales, his throat decorated with what seemed like black rock, although every time the dragon shifted it revealed red lines like molten lava. He had dark horns curving from his forehead, and although his robes were trailing in the water, it did not seem as if they were wet.

“Hello,” Sky said once he was closer to the lake. Out of the corner of his eye he could make out Legend dropping his head into his palms. Sky winced. He definitely had a couple lectures to look forward to.

The dragon whipped his head around, and Sky found himself close enough to touch the stern gaze of the creature.

“A Hylian,” the dragon rumbled.

Sky bowed. Previous experiences with dragons showed that they could be a little proud. “Sorry for interrupting, but I didn’t expect to encounter a dragon at this lake. It’s nice to meet you, my name is Link.”

The dragon drew his face back in what seemed like surprise. “Not many Hylians know what manner of creature I am, much less speak to me as a person. My name is Drahgma. Pray tell, what _were_ you expecting to encounter at this lake?”

Despite the group still being mostly hidden by foliage, he could still see Twilight shaking his head with his arms forming an _X_ , Four making jerky cutting movements near his neck, and Warriors simply leveling a hard gaze. Wild, however, was shrugging, and Wind was just making faces.

“Well?” Drahgma prompted.

“I…” Sky started, hesitant, “I was looking for a bird.”

Drahgma chuckled. “Child, there are plenty of birds in the sky, in the trees. Why walk all this way?”

Fury simmered in his gut. Everyone thought it amusing, the connection he had with birds, as if it was just a funny quirk of his. That’s all it ever was, wasn’t it: a joke, with his companions and even with this dragon, wise or not. As if a part of him wasn’t forever tied to the clouds above.

They couldn’t possibly understand. They all were so far from his time.

“I was searching for the deity of this lake,” Sky gritted out. “I know the difference between a bird of the heavens and a bird of the earth.”

Drahgma regarded him with silence, and Sky tried to relax. He hadn’t been so frustrated since his original journey.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Drahgma murmured, craning his neck to look at Sky from all angles. “You recognize what I am, you claim to know creatures of the gods. And…”

Drahgma’s face was hovering above his own, now. Sky could feel his breath ruffling his hair as the dragon peered over Sky’s shoulder.

“…What an _interesting_ sword you have.”

Sky tensed. Fi was silent, as he had come to expect, but he didn’t need her to tell him that there was a high probability of this leading to a negative encounter.

“Family heirloom,” he said, and stepped back.

He heard rustling from where the rest were, but he couldn’t risk turning to look. A single claw tip gently tipped his head upwards as Drahgma continued to examine him.

“No… you are no ordinary Hylian…” Drahgma said, seemingly oblivious to the movement behind the bushes. “I know exactly where the bird you seek is, sky child.”

A chill ran down his spine. “I-”

 _Thud._ Drahgma’s serpent-like tail whipped out from within the lake, splashing the surrounding trees and smacking straight into Legend and Warriors, who had come out from hiding. They landed in a heap on top of each other, cueing the whole group to burst from the foliage.

Sky yelped in shock as Drahgma’s clawed hand gripped him tight around the torso, lifting him off the ground and trapping his arms to his side. “What are you doing?” he shouted, legs kicking uselessly.

Three arrows pinged harmlessly off of Drahgma’s face as Sky tried to struggle out of his grasp. He twisted to see Wild readying another volley, his frown getting smaller and smaller as the dragon rose to his full height.

“Let him go!” Time bellowed, but his protests fell on deaf ears.

Sky continued to try to twist out of Drahgma’s grasp, but to no avail. He hazarded a glance at his companions, who were struggling just as hard penetrate the dragon’s tough scales. Wild seemed to have thrown all caution to the wind and had begun scaling Drahgma’s side.

“In less than a month, two new jewels for my collection. My luck has never been so sweet,” Drahgma rumbled, almost sounding giddy.

Then, without warning, he rocketed upwards.

“ _No!_ ” Sky cried out as Wild was tossed backwards by the force of the dragon’s movement.

Paraglider, he thought through his dizzying panic, Wild had a paraglider, and their companions would surely catch him anyways. He would be safe.

As the lake grew tiny beneath him, Sky began to doubt the same could be said for himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those curious/don't know/forgot, here's what Skyward Sword dragons look like:  
> [[Faron]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda/images/f/fd/Faron_\(Skyward_Sword\).png)  
> [[Eldin]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda/images/6/6c/Eldin_\(Skyward_Sword\).png)  
> [[Lanayru]](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/zelda/images/f/f6/Lanayru_\(Skyward_Sword\).png)
> 
> (let me know if those links are broken somehow)


	4. what they say about hindsight

“I can’t _believe_ him!” Legend yelled, throwing out his arms. “Who does he _think_ he is, just – waltzing up to a potentially hostile – ”

“Quiet,” Twilight said. Legend whirled around with a ferocious glare, but Twilight jerked his hand towards Wind. “The sailor’s trying something.”

Wind had his eyes closed and his mouth twisted in concentration. A wind whipped at his clothing and tossed at his hair as he flicked a small, intricate baton in his hand to an unheard tempo.

His expression and the grip he had on the baton tightened, and his movements became a touch more violent.

Then he opened his eyes and almost managed not to look gutted.

“The dragon took him higher than I could handle,” he admitted, putting the baton away. “The winds up there are too wild to control.”

“Can he even _breathe_ up there?” Hyrule said.

Four squinted up at the clouds. “I think if Sky lived in the, uh, sky, he won’t suffocate.”

“Pity. Bastard deserves it, for the stunt he pulled,” Legend grumbled. Wind lunged at him. “How could you even _say_ that!” the sailor shouted. “Do you think he _wanted_ to get kidnapped!? I knew we shouldn’t go after any giant bird! And _you_!” Wind rounded on Warriors.

“You said it’d be fine!” Wind yelled.

Warriors looked unnaturally calm. “I said it’d be fine with the bird. No one was expecting the dragon.”

“No one was expecting that the bird-brain would stroll up to the first living creature he saw,” Legend grumbled, clutching tightly at his sleeve as he crossed his arms.

“ _I_ was going to go, too,” Wild said, clenching his fists and staring steadily at Twilight. “I probably could’ve pulled him away if _you_ didn’t hold me back.”

Twilight straight-up _growled_.

“That’s enough!” Time called out sharply. “This arguing is helping no one. Maybe we could have prevented this, but there’s no going back to the past.”

“He’s right. We can lecture Sky when we find him. Right now, we have to work together.” Four said, “Sailor! What direction was the dragon heading in?”

Wind pointed slightly west of north. “That way,” he confirmed.

“A dragon that large can cover a lot of ground,” Hyrule said, “We’ll need to catch up somehow.”

“We can get some horses from the town,” Wild offered, “But would that take too much time?”

Time sighed. “It’d be faster than catching up by foot.”

“He’ll be fine,” Warriors cut in, and for a moment his calm façade slipped into something unnerved. “The dragon mentioned a collection. I’d think it’d want Sky in… good condition.”

“That’s gross,” Wind said, wrinkling his nose.

“That’s our life,” Legend grumbled. “Let’s get some horses so we can rip this dragon a new one.”

* * *

Drahgma landed amidst a copse of trees. A mountain loomed overhead, its shadow causing the molten lines within his throat to look particularly menacing.

Sky wasted no time and resumed struggling out of Drahgma’s grasp. Attempting to, anyways.

“Hmm…” Drahgma rumbled, “I hadn’t considered where I’d put him. The primates exhibit seems a little… beneath a specimen of this caliber.”

Sky tried to twist around to face the dragon. “Maybe you could put me _down_?”

Drahgma paid him no mind. “He was searching for the bird. Legends say his kind once flew above the clouds on feathered companions…”

He trailed off, then tilted his head down at Sky. “Sky child.”

Sky winced. “Can you maybe not – ”

“How deep is your connection to the avian kind? Can you understand them? Can you speak with them?”

Yeah, right. Like he was going to tell this dragon anything else.

Drahgma eyed him for a moment, and when it seemed apparent that no answer was forthcoming, he sighed.

“Why must specimens always be this _difficult_ ,” he muttered. Sky startled as Drahgma’s unoccupied claw shot towards the branches of a nearby tree.

The movement sent a couple birds bursting from the leaves in a panic, but not all were so lucky.

Clutched delicately between two of Drahgma’s sharp fingers was a chickadee. Already a small bird, the trembling creature was completely dwarfed by Drahgma’s hand.

“Answer my questions lest my fingers slip,” Drahgma said, “A little bird like this would burst quite easily with little effort on my part.”

Sky gaped at him in horror. “I can speak to them, they understand me!” he blurted, “Don’t hurt him.”

“ _What’s going on? I don’t understand. Will it eat me?”_ the chickadee warbled.

“ _I’m sorry,”_ Sky answered, “ _I will try to help.”_ The chickadee eyed him warily, clearly doubtful of his abilities at the moment.

“See?” Sky said, “We spoke. _Please_ let him go.”

For a brief, terrifying moment, Sky was convinced that Drahgma wouldn’t listen, that he would cut this little life short just because he could.

Ghirahim would have, Sky thought, panicked.

Drahgma opened his fingers, and the chickadee took off like a shot. Sky exhaled in relief, sagging in the dragon’s grasp.

He had little time to recover from that stressful experience, though, as Drahgma flew forward towards the rocky wall of the mountain without warning. Sky yelped and ducked his head, bracing for impact or (hopefully) a sudden increase in altitude, but felt neither.

They were inside an expansive and warmly lit chamber with tall, climbing walls and a vaulted ceiling. Lining the walls were shelves of books, and throughout the room were glass cabinets with stretched-out maps and large tomes lying open.

Had Sky not been trapped, he might have called the room beautiful. He craned his neck to see what he already knew: there was no visible exit from the mountain’s interior.

“I cannot wait to craft your display,” Drahgma crowed, “That bird from the lake had nothing I could compliment it with, but _you_! A Hylian from the land Hylia herself sent to the sky – no, not just a Hylian! The first reincarnation of the fabled Hero’s spirit. Yes, you will be a marvelous addition.”

Sky stared at him. “You know who I am,” he said slowly.

Drahgma scoffed. “What sort of scholar would I be, to not recognize you?”

“You know who I am, and you wish to… to _keep_ me? _Why_?” Sky said, raising his voice in bewilderment.

“Why not? Your time is long gone, but I preserve history so that is never _truly_ lost. Within my halls, time may as well stand still, and artifacts will always retain their glory.”

_Artifacts?_ Is that what Sky was? A relic of the past?

His mind snagged on something he’d overlooked when trying to escape. The bird! Drahgma mentioned the bird from the lake – was he keeping that deity imprisoned here?

Sky resumed struggling with renewed fervor, but the hand around him tightened and took away his breath.

“I tire of your wriggling,” Drahgma growled. “I need both my hands for the upcoming work. You must stay _still_.”

Sky opened his mouth to tell him just what he thought about staying still, but suddenly could not quite make out the dragon’s face through the haze that had entered his vision. “Wha-?” he managed muzzily.

He tried to keep his eyes open, but his eyelids felt unreasonable heavy and the room – rooms? – swam meaninglessly before him.

Sky just barely managed to catch a glimpse of red feathers before falling over limp in Drahgma’s grasp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is an example of a [chickadee](https://www.audubon.org/sites/default/files/styles/hero_cover_bird_page/public/Boreal_Chickadee_DanielArndt_FlickrCC_314.jpg?itok=OJnsb_ln).


	5. look yourself in the eye

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! I'm back after exams and stuff.

Galloping across fields and scuffing up dirt in their wake were four horses, each bearing two riders. Epona lead the small herd, a determined Twilight in her saddle while Wind fumed behind him. On a horse sturdy enough to handle the additional weight of armor, Time and Four maintained an aura of serene calm that belied the turbulent emotions broiling underneath. Warriors and Hyrule generated almost a tangible nervous energy between them, what with the captain undoubtedly thinking of tactics for a wholly unprecedented situation and Hyrule fretting for his friend’s safety. Wild and Legend rode together in silence, the former setting anxiety aside in favor of losing himself to the familiar sensation of riding, the latter a storm brewing in a bottle.

_Let him suffocate up there_ , Legend had essentially said, earlier. It weighed on him heavily. A statement born of heated emotions, sure, but still spoken aloud, still tempting the fates. Legend clutched at his sword’s hilt and grit his teeth. He couldn’t take back those words, but he’d do anything he could to ensure they took back Sky.

* * *

The world swam back into view gradually. Sky blinked slowly, his head still fuzzy from unexpected sleep. Somehow, no matter how many times he tried to clear his vision, it was still oddly segmented. He stumbled to his feet and realized several things in quick succession.

One: he couldn’t properly view his surroundings because he was in some sort of strange cage. The golden bars were built close enough to prevent him from squeezing through. They all curved upwards to meet each other above him to form a dome.

Two: he was missing his sailcloth. More accurately, he was missing practically _all_ of his things, with only his clothing remaining. All of his weapons were gone.

The _Master Sword_ was gone. Sky almost lost himself to panic right then and there before forcing himself to calm as he tried to sense if the sword was nearby.

… _There_. She was somewhere… beneath him? He tried his best to peek down through the bars to catch a glimpse, but to no avail. All he could tell was that even if he somehow managed to get out through the bars, there was a nasty fall awaiting him with no sailcloth to soften the distance.

The moment he looked up once more was when the final realization hit him hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.

His Loftwing was trapped in another, larger cage across the room.

* * *

Twilight barely refrained from howling out his frustration as he was forced to bring Epona to an unexpected halt. Wind had no such restraint, shouting, “ _Fuck_ no!” as a horde of what looked like distant Bulblin cousins rushed in on bristling boar-back.

There was nothing they could do about it, as aggravating as it was, save for cutting them down as fast as they could.

“Do you think the dragon sent them?” Four called to Time. Usually, the man tended to look utterly disinterested when slicing through enemies, but now his expression was much closer to the kind most people would make when experiencing something mildly unpleasant.

“Unlikely,” Time said, his voice carefully measured as he kicked away an approaching Bulblin, “I think it’s because we’re cursed with bad luck.”

“We don’t have time for this!” Hyrule shouted as he flung fire from his sword, Wild’s arrows picking off any enemies that had the sense to jump out of the way.

Warriors grit his teeth and focused on the familiar feelings of fighting through a crowd. He’d gotten through larger hordes in no time before, and he’d do it again. He just hoped Sky wasn’t in too much trouble.

* * *

Sky frantically struggled to breathe, feeling like he had sprinted a marathon. When he somehow managed to find some semblance of calm, he felt twin waves of shame and relief wash over him.

Relief, because he was mistaken. The resemblance was uncanny, but the bird he could see across the room was certainly _not_ his Loftwing.

Shame, because he had been foolish enough to mistake another bird for his soulmate. He couldn’t afford to let his homesickness ruin his focus.

Sky exhaled slowly and raised his eyes again. The bird was watching him through narrowed eyes. Her crimson feathers shone with more jewel-like tones than he expected, and her beak was smaller and sharper than the birds of his home.

“Hello,” he said. He’d spoken with Loftwing sounds, as was his default with unfamiliar birds.

The likely deity of the lake remained silent.

Unease crept over his shoulders. “I… Do you know why we are being kept here?”

Still nothing. What do you even say, to a fellow prisoner?

“H-how long have you been here?” he tried.

The deity made a sharp noise his way. “ _Silence_.”

Her voice sounded almost like a Loftwing, as if it were a dialect of their language. Taken aback, Sky could only manage a confused croak.

“ _I hear enough chatter from the ridiculous creature that tends to this equally ridiculous horde. I care even less for_ your _pathetic little questions. Little grubby earth-walkers… always meddling with everything.”_

Sky gaped at the deity, who had begun to preen her feathers. Not even Groose’s Loftwing had ever been this… rude? Haughty? He couldn’t even imagine people worshipping a bird with such an attitude.

Of course, he doubted there were others capable of understanding her speech.

“W-well, I’m not… I’m not quite an earth-walker, really,” Sky attempted, “Not like –”

The deity threw back her head and laughed, a series of squawks that made him flex his fingers against the bars uncertainly.

“ _You certainly sound sure,_ ” she said, sounding smug.

“I-I am!” Sky insisted, wincing at his stutter. “My people – we live in the sky, and –!”

The deity laughed again. He curled his fingers around bars in frustration. Couldn’t she let him finish?

_“Lived. Your people lived in the sky. But no longer,”_ she crowed, _“Isn’t that right?”_

He stilled. “Skyloft is my home,” he said, “That’s still true.”

“ _Little sky child… still grasping at clouds. It was your home. I know who are. I know what your little meddling hands did.”_

“I’m _not_ a child,” he growled, his knuckles white around golden bars. Why did that _taunt_ have to follow him here?

“ _Oh?”_ for all that she had wanted him silent earlier, the deity sure seemed to revel in his unease. “ _Isn’t it just like a child, to cause messes beyond repair? To ruin something valuable, and refuse responsibility?”_

Sky recoiled from the bars. He didn’t want to hear this anymore.

* * *

“I can’t believe we’re stopping,” Wind groused, but slid off Epona, nevertheless. “We’ll never catch up in time!”

“We weren’t going to catch up anyway,” Warriors said, ignoring Wind’s glare. “Besides, we’re no use to Sky if we’re sloppy from lack of rest.”

“You’re right and I hate it,” Legend said, “I’m taking first watch.”

Wild passed around some meat skewers he’d pulled from his Slate as the rest set up a simple camp.

Wind plopped down next to Twilight, who twitched at the movement. After an awkward moment filled with the sound of Wind chewing angrily, Twilight deigned to speak up.

“I was surprised when you asked to ride with me,” he said, although Wind had not quite asked as much as stood pointedly next to Epona as the rest of the group acquired three more horses.

“You can ride a horse and you didn’t completely ignore me when I said that maybe we _shouldn’t_ go after giant birds,” Wind seethed.

There were any number of ways he could respond to that. Maybe with the fact that as far as they knew, Sky was _friends_ with giant birds. Or that Warriors had just been looking out for Sky and his hopes when he’d brushed off Wind’s concerns. Maybe the fact that a dragon bent on kidnapping was something no one expected, and that Wind might be better off channeling his anger at said dragon rather than a certain scarf-wearing captain.

Instead he said, “You seem to have quite the grudge against giant birds.”

Wind huffed out a short breath and let himself fall back against the ground. “A giant bird grabbed my little sister and took her away right in front of me,” he said wryly.

He reached up at the sky, fingers splayed. “I couldn’t do a single thing about it.” He curled his hand into a fist and drove it into the ground beside him. “And I couldn’t do anything to stop Sky getting grabbed, either.”

Twilight sighed and let himself tip back onto the ground as well. Then he chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Wind demanded.

“Right when my journey started, my two closest friends were kidnapped,” Twilight said. “I was right there, but I got knocked out while standing about uselessly. When I woke up, they were gone.”

He tilted his head to catch Wind’s eye. “That happened at a kind of lake then, too. Somehow, I managed not to land face first in the water and drown. My journey could have ended right then and there.”

“I almost fell off a cliff trying to save my sister,” Wind admitted.

“But you did save her, right? Just like I managed to save my friends, no matter how long it took.”

“Yeah. Aryll’s safe now,” Wind said, his voice filling with conviction, “And Sky’s going to be safe, too.”

* * *

“ _Someone’s quiet now,”_ the deity crooned.

Sky had retreated to the back of his cage, pulling his knees up and trying not to face the only other being in the room.

“You’re not great for conversation,” he said, hoping his tumultuous emotions weren’t leaking into his tone.

When he was younger, Groose (and others, but mostly Groose) had done everything in his power to needle Sky about every little thing. Sky was too lazy, he was too clumsy, he always depended on Zelda for everything. These were all things that were true, in some way, but Groose being Groose always managed to tease him in ways that didn’t quite hit the heart of the matter. If Groose had ever learned how to truly sniff out a weakness, he would have truly been a formidable tormentor.

Still, Groose was a rather intimidating nuisance as Sky grew up. His methods for dealing with bullies had always been the following: walk away or just stand there.

Zelda had always urged him to stand up for himself more. She’d always be there to fight on his behalf, she’d say, but it couldn’t hurt to push back on his own every now and then, couldn’t it?

Fighting back had never worked against Groose because Sky might as well have been talking to a brick wall. Groose had an uncanny ability of tuning out everything he’d say.

And at the end of the day, even if Groose had made him feel a little smaller every now and then, Groose hadn’t truly been a threat at all.

This was something different altogether.

“ _You have the Hero’s Spirit, don’t you? I see it so clearly, as you huddle away from the truth!”_ the deity said.

“I’m not hiding,” Sky insisted, “I know what you’re getting at.”

“ _Do you? Why don’t you say it out loud, then, if you’re so brave?”_

“I’m not… why are you _doing_ this? You gain nothing from me saying anything!” he yelled.

“ _Perhaps a creature like me gains some satisfaction from creatures like you baring their sins,”_ she said gleefully, “ _Wouldn’t you like to help a poor bird out?”_

Sky tipped his head back and sighed. He might as well get it over with, despite the churning in his stomach. Clearly, she wouldn’t stop until he’d spoken it aloud.

Besides, she was right, in a way. It was time he stopped holding this secret so close to his chest. Maybe, saying it now would make it easier when he told the truth to his companions later.

His heart clenched painfully at the thought.

“I doomed them all,” he said listlessly, “It is because of me that the Hero’s Spirit is cursed to fight and suffer, that an agent of evil rises alongside my every reincarnation.”

Silence.

Blinking in confusion, he lifted his head to look at the deity across the room.

Then she started to laugh again, louder and harsher than before. He flinched despite himself.

“ _Seems like you’ve caused even more trouble than I’d known!”_ she shouted with glee.

“What?” he said, bewildered, “What do you mean?”

“ _So, you really don’t know, then? What else you’ve wrought?”_

He didn’t know, and he didn’t _want_ to know. But he couldn’t run from it.

After all, he was pretty terrible at running.

“What did I do?” he asked, and braced himself.

“ _What did you do?”_ she cackled, _“You destroyed your entire culture, sky child. It is because of you that no Loftwing will ever be found in these skies again.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter took a while to write! This chapter was hard for me mostly because the crux of it was Sky arguing with a bird. 
> 
> On a separate note: Sky doesn't realize he's in a stereotypical birdcage because he has very little experience with them for obvious reasons.


	6. hint of an updraft

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for such a late update! Things got real busy, and I had to really consider what exactly I was planning for this story. I've just about figured it out, hopefully. Thanks for reading!

The words of the deity cut Sky as deep as a weapon in an enemy’s hands, but he had little time to truly consider them.

The huge doors in the room slid open near silently. Drahgma glided in, looking far too pleased with himself. For a moment, Sky could hear other voices, other birds, talking and singing over each other, before the doors closed behind the dragon.

“What do you want,” Sky growled at him.

As usual, Drahgma ignored him, and instead turned to the deity across the room.

“I hoped a companion would curb your temper,” he said. She screamed wordlessly in response.

Her apparent determination to tear him down aside, Sky quite felt like doing the same.

Drahgma sighed like he was carrying some great burden, and finally turned to Sky.

Sky opened his mouth to speak again but choked on air as the cage suddenly moved. He stumbled and clutched onto the bars to avoid completely toppling over.

“What are you –” once more, the words got caught in his throat. As his cage swayed, he caught sight of his gear.

Apparently, his cage had been set on some sort of pedestal. All of his weapons and items were carefully arranged on some shelves set into the pedestal, all framing the Master Sword, which was sheathed in a golden replica of its original stand.

Sky’s heart ached. Fi, too, was forced to be part of this creature’s display.

He was startled to see that he was getting closer and closer to his gear. Drahgma must have been moving Sky’s cage down to hold at his side, which had the convenient side effect of Sky’s items being a mere arm’s length away.

But which to grab? Impulse had him wanting to grab the Master Sword, but it would be hard to pull it out at the angle he was at. The whip, perhaps? It wouldn’t do him much good while he was still stuck inside the cage, however…

The beetle! How many times had that little device come in handy before? Sky lurched forward against the side of his cage, desperately scanning the carefully arranged items for the familiar shape of the beetle. Just before Drahgma moved away, Sky noticed a very conspicuous empty spot on the shelf. For whatever reason, his beetle was absent from this display.

His heart plummeted to the bottom of his stomach. That might have been his only chance.

Drahgma went through the sliding doors, and once more a cacophony of voices assaulted Sky’s ears. As far as he could make out from his lowered vantage point, he was now in a long hall _filled_ with the strange rounded cages on pedestals. Birds of all shapes, sizes, and colors twittered and screeched inside, chattering about everything and anything, and mostly complaining.

The constant swaying of the cage mixed with the noise and color of the room made Sky a little dizzy. He decided it was best to maybe sit down.

Another set of doors opened as Drahgma made his way out of what seemed to be his personal avian collection.

Sky tried to keep track of the route the dragon was taking, but all the winding hallways were difficult to differentiate from his caged vantage point. Feeling the sting of frustration, he resigned himself to the waiting game.

Finally, Draghma passed through a different set of sliding doors into what looked like an elaborate study. Stacks of scrolls were arranged across a large desk with small artifacts interspersed between them. Small artifacts that included, to Sky’s relief, his beetle. If he could only just reach…

Draghma set Sky’s cage on a protruding shelf and seemed to settle in front of the desk.

“Why did you bring me here?” Sky asked.

Draghma glanced up at him as he bent down to open a couple scrolls. “When I work, it is pleasant to have some sort of song to stimulate the mind. My collection of birds has often provided me with the perfect melody with which to study.”

Sky stared at him, dumbfounded. “You want me to _sing_ for you?” he asked incredulously. Drahgma made an unmistakable gesture with one clawed hand – _go ahead_. Sky recoiled as heat rushed to his face.

He had faced many trials on his journey as a hero… but this was just incredibly _awkward_.

For some birds, he’d learned, song was important for finding a mate. Loftwings placed more attention on the formation of a suitable nest rather than out-singing one another, but music was still integral to the culture of Skyloft. After all, Hylia was always associated with music of some kind, the gleaming harp nestled amongst the rest of his items only one of various symbolic instruments played and revered during festivals. Ultimately, song brought not only the people of Skyloft together, but all the people living across the scattered islands of the sky.

To sing for this dragon’s entertainment was nothing short of bizarre. He had no desire to become closer to Drahgma, unless getting closer meant getting access to a key of some kind.

…Grabbing a key from someone was exactly the kind of task the beetle was well-equipped for.

“No,” Sky said, “I won’t sing.”

Drahgma gave him a withering look. “ _Why_?”

Did he really think that Sky would just, what, acquiesce to his demands instantly? A trait expressed in various ways amongst the incarnations of the Hero was stubbornness, and Sky was no exception.

Something told him that saying, “ _because I don’t want to,_ ” wouldn’t fly over well with the dragon, though. Not to mention that it would do nothing to further his plans of grabbing the beetle.

The shelf the cage was on was positioned above Drahgma’s desk. With enough effort, Sky figured he could tip his cage enough to make it topple over onto the surface below.

Such a feat would be impossible to carry out discreetly, of course.

Could he convince Drahgma to leave somehow? Sky was pathetic at lying, especially under pressure, but it seemed like he had no choice.

The deity’s words echoed in his mind. “ _You destroyed your entire culture, sky child._ ” Drahgma had known of Sky’s existence, but did he actually know any details about Sky and his people?

“I – uh. I can’t sing,” Sky replied, attempting to inject as much sheepishness as possible into the words and his body language. It helped that he was completely mortified by the position he was in. When he escaped, he was definitely leaving this part out when telling the tale.

Drahgma’s eyes narrowed. “You mimic songbirds’ speech just fine.”

“Yes. But it’s… _different_ for singing. Um… The only birdsong I can match is that of my Loftwing.” Utter nonsense. Sky loved learning how to make the same sounds that other birds sang with, but Drahgma had no way of knowing. Most likely, anyway.

“Then just sing whatever birdsong you are capable of and stop wasting my time.”

_You asked for it…_

Sky, not without a large amount of uncharacteristic sadistic glee, began to screech as loud as he could. It was the kind of sound that a Loftwing would use to call to a friend that was far away in the sky. It was a happy sound, one that many Loftwing riders would use themselves to call to friends and often used as a precursor to a lot of jokes. One of his fondest memories was screeching almost unintelligible inside jokes across a stretch of sky to Zelda, who barely managed to screech any in return between fits of laughter.

“ _Stop!_ ” Drahgma shouted.

Sky stopped and tried his best to not seem incredibly amused. Despite his efforts, he could still feel the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, so instead he ducked his head.

“This is why I said that I won’t sing,” he said, “But I _do_ have a harp, and know how to play it.”

Drahgma growled, a deep sound rumbling ominously from his throat, but it had nothing on the roars of beasts Sky had faced in the past. It only showed how unbalanced Sky’s mild form of rebellion had made the dragon, which Sky figured had something to do with a lack of beings able or willing to actually speak to Drahgma in the first place.

Drahgma visibly composed himself. “Seeing and hearing you play that harp would aid me in my research of your history… I shall fetch it shortly.”

With that, Drahgma swept out of the room.

As soon as the doors slid closed, Sky moved to the back of the cage and then dashed at the opposing wall, ramming the bars with as much force as he could muster.

To his relief, the cage moved forward slightly. Ignoring the throb in his shoulder, he took a deep breath and readied himself to move again.

It took only four more tries before he felt the cage wobble dangerously.

_…I forgot that I was falling along with the cage…_

The surroundings lurched oddly around him, and Sky barely avoided slamming his face into the bars as the cage landed on its side with a resounding thud.

A little dazed from the tumble, Sky managed to get to his feet. Every second felt like an eternity. How long had he worked to get the cage to fall? Drahgma could return at any moment.

He still needed to reach the beetle. Luckily, it didn’t seem to be too far from where the cage had landed. Sky awkwardly sidled up to the now-sideways bars and threaded his arm through them, sliding his hand along the desk’s surface until his fingers bumped against one of the beetle’s pincers.

With a sigh of relief, he adjusted the contraption onto his wrist. Of course, things couldn’t keep going his way forever. He was rapidly realizing that the original plan to nab a key using the beetle had a major flaw. Namely, that there was no way that he would be able to steal a key _and_ unlock his cage while Drahgma took in the state of his desk.

Perhaps there was a simpler, if not sillier, method of escape. Sky launched the beetle and directed it to the outside of the cage’s lock. The beetle was a lot smaller than the lock’s opening.

With the familiar sense of just _knowing_ what the beetle was encountering, along with some deft maneuvering, Sky had the beetle push up the pins in the lock until all of their positions were level.

The lock sprang open, and with it, the door to the cage! He grinned as the beetle returned to its perch on his wrist. Now all he had to do was climb out.

Easier said than done, of course, because as soon as he grasped a bar above him, the doors to the study slid open.

“What,” said Drahgma in a tone far too calm, “do you think you are _doing_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A headcanon I have is that Skyloft is not the only big island in the sky. It may be entirely out of line with canon, since I haven't played/seen the game in a while, but I feel like there are a lot more people in the sky than was necessary to show us in the game. I _do_ think that Skyloft was one of the more holy places due to the giant Goddess statue and all.
> 
> Also: with my basic knowledge of lockpicking, the way that Sky picked the cage's lock is mostly bogus, unless it was a really, _really_ bad lock. You would need some tension on the lock for the pins to actually be able to stay in place, and of course, you'd actually need some sort of way to _turn_ the lock like you would with a key. But I feel that in the world of LoZ the way the lock was here would be a pretty standard puzzle.


End file.
